Nobody can recall a start to Big 12 Conference play quite like this one.

After home teams successfully protected their court in all five games during the first weekend of conference men’s action, the visitors gained revenge last week. Road teams went 8-3, including a tidy 4-1 on Saturday. Entering play Monday night, the season tally stood even: eight wins by host teams, eight by visitors. That wouldn’t be surprising in a low-major conference, but this isn’t the Big South.

“Everybody was talking the first week about how hard it is to win on the road, and now it’s turned everybody’s thinking on its head,” said Missouri coach Quin Snyder, whose Tigers lost at home to Colorado on Saturday. “I think it’s still going to be tough to win on the road. But this is one of these years where maybe you can throw that out the window.”

Parity may have finally reached the Big 12, at least among teams below powerhouse Texas. Conference play began just 10 days ago, and already eight Big 12 teams have celebrated a road victory.

“(The Big 12) is not quite as top-heavy as we’ve been in the past,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, whose Jayhawks were surprised at home by Kansas State on Saturday. “You’re going to have more chances for upsets on the road.”

“The margin of error is so low in this conference,” Texas A&M coach Billy Gillispie added. “(Even at home) you have to make the right plays, the right calls and perform at high level for 40 minutes or you’re going to get beat.”

It remains to be seen whether a logjam in the standings will help or hurt the Big 12 in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament selection committee. It could hurt, based on the lack of national recognition. Only two Big 12 teams are ranked, Texas at No. 5 and Oklahoma at No. 25.

Five winners of Big 12 games needed fewer than 60 points, and three others won with fewer than 70 points last week. Oklahoma survived an excruciating 45-44 struggle at Texas A&M on Saturday.

“You get into league play and people make you play in the half court,” Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge said. “You have to generate points with five guys in front of you. That’s hard to do, sometimes.”

Keep on firing

Colorado sophomore Richard Roby, named Big 12 player of the week on Monday, credited his 33-point performance at Missouri to something he learned from watching the Texas-Villanova telecast earlier on Saturday.

“A Villanova guard, Allan Ray, couldn’t hit anything, but he kept shooting,” Roby said. “You could tell that even when his shots didn’t fall, he stayed confident. I told myself to be like that.”

Roby became the first CU player to win Big 12 player of the week honors since David Harrison did so during the 2003-04 season.

“Roby looked like an NBA player out there,” said Baylor coach Scott Drew, whose team plays Wednesday in Boulder.

Footnotes

Talk about a new roster. Oklahoma State’s Torre Johnson became the fifth Cowboy in nine weeks to earn Big 12 newcomer of the week accolades. Johnson, a 6-foot-7 forward who transferred from Garden City (Kan.) Community College, averaged 19 points and 7.5 rebounds against Texas A&M and Baylor. He comes off the bench for Oklahoma State. … Big 12 coaches were disappointed at several marquee nonconference losses by league schools, but it turns out the 7-8 record (.467) against top 25 opponents was the best in the nation. The Big Ten is next with a 5-7 mark (.417). … Kansas State sophomore guard Clent Stewart came up big in the upset of Kansas with a career-high 15 points. In Stewart’s prior four games, he had totaled 12 points and was benched. … CU has won four of its past six meetings against Missouri after previously having lost eight consecutive to the Tigers.

Avalanche defenseman Erik Johnson had butterflies before Sunday's game against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn't because of the big-name opponent, but rather his return from a 13-game injury absence and being stoked to rejoin a team in a playoff push and looking for its third postseason appearance in 10 years.